Scaly-breasted Hummingbird

How to find it

Check mangroves, forest edges, tall second growth and partly cleared sites with scattered trees. In Guanacaste it also visits ground bromeliads and flowering Genipa, Inga and Erythrina trees. In mangroves it favours the flowers of Pelliciera. Listen for the loud, persistent song, because it can lead you to the singing groups of males in the canopy. Hummingbird garden feeders, such as those at Selvatura Park, have also produced sightings.

How to recognise it

This is a fairly large, plain hummingbird, about 11.5 to 13 cm long. Males and females look alike, though males are slightly heavier.

Look for these marks:

Mostly bronzy-green plumage.

Broad, dull buff feather edges on the throat, breast and sides, which give the scaly look.

A grayish-buff belly.

A black bill with a pink base on the lower half.

A dark blue-green tail.

The tail then tells the two Costa Rican forms apart. The Caribbean slope form (roberti) has black outer tail feathers with white tips, a helpful field mark. The Pacific slope form (maculicauda) has a greener throat and partly black outer tail feathers.

What it sounds like

Recording: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

This hummingbird is very aggressive and territorial, and it defends its patch. Males sing and display together in loose groups of up to 8 in the canopy of second growth or low mangroves.

It breeds mostly in the rainy season, and in Costa Rica the nesting period runs from May to January. In dry forest and mangroves it forages from the understory up to mid levels.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it is mainly a lowland bird, found locally up to about 1,200 m. One form lives on the Caribbean slope in the northeast, and the other on the Pacific slope.

Across its range it favours semi-open country: dry forest, forest edges and clearings, mangroves, secondary growth, scrub and gardens. It avoids the interior of closed evergreen forest.

When to see it

On the Pacific slope in Guanacaste it breeds mainly in mangroves and spreads more widely during the rainy season. On the Caribbean side outside the Río Frío area it is an occasional visitor, mostly in the dry season.

Similar birds

It is often grouped with the sabrewings (Campylopterus) because the outer wing feathers have a flattened shaft. Its dull, plain look resembles some dull sabrewings. The pink lower bill and the scaly breast help set it apart.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Besides Colibrí Pechiescamado, Spanish sources also call it colibrí de Cuvier, ala de sable verde, colibrí pecho escamoso and fandanguero pechiescamoso.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident (R), and it is Least Concern, uncommon to locally common over most of its range.

Photography tips

Singing males gather in loose groups, so follow the song to the canopy of second growth or low mangroves. Good light on the pink-based bill and the scaled breast makes the best portrait. Flowering Inga and Erythrina trees and garden feeders offer steadier chances.